Calming Colors, Trail Opera and Spiked Cocoa

Ha! I knew that would get ya all! WHAT???! Wait for it.....


After reading up on some fellow bloggers posts, and posting one of my own, I dressed and readied for the stable drive a day ago.
 It was 36 degrees and still windy, with drizzling rains. 
 I had offered to help out with feeding and what ever I had time and energies for, at my stable. The owners were out of town and or working late.
 I cleaned the boarders stalls the day before, what I could at least...most the horses poo and pee outside in the large runs, so that meant not much I could do there, as the manure was still frozen to the ground!
 Wa mare prefers her stall  for all that business- lucky me.

I had read my comments before I took off... CHEYENNE of "CHEYENNE CHRONICLES" had mentioned the fact he was all cozy, sitting inside(now I know who he was with too )with his Hot Cocoa and such, instead of braving  the elements and riding-LIKE CRAZY ME "~' !
I then decided to take some spiked Cocoa in a thermos, out to the stable and have it after I rode the arena today- Mine would have a little EXTRA WARMING capacities of Irish Cream ! I could have BOTH the cold ride and the HOT cocoa!

I also read  from Juliette of "HONEYSUCKLE FAIRE"  post, on energies and our human preoccupations -that can totally be felt by our equine partners.I REALLY AGREE and loved the post...It put a new "colorfull" twist on the subject "~'I have been having much FEAR related to riding the arena with my opinionated mare. So, I decided to be as bright, creative and hopeful as a Rainbow for her today! Thanks Jules!


One more illustration, to tell you how prepared I was for Success!
  "Calm, Forward Straights" sweet writer and rider, we  have been corresponding of late. She and I have opposite pensiveness. Mine in the arena-hers out on the trails. We've been cheering each other on & she has offered helpful encouragements.
 I wrote, in her comments recently, about how I got over fears on the trail...that was prompted by my Newbie trail horse,Washashe, 5 years ago. I had no riding partners back then when I started, it was still my first year of having the mare. So against all advise I would go out alone and adventure, with the mare. I always had the cell and left a msg to when I left and when I'd be back. This stable had only one trail out...so they already knew the direction.
Washashe was not knowing me and my capacity for situations..me neither really.
She would stop dead-stop breathing-set her head so high, and I got the  feeling like= she wanted to bolt. I don't know how or why I thought to do this back then but, I would belt out loudly- in a sing-songy way, something to the effect of, " I am here with my horse, and you are there beyond our sight, wild animal...we know you are there"...
I called it "Trail Opera".  I would use heavy vibrato and actually SING out in a song, words that pertained to what was going on..real impromptu lyrics! That first time, It actually may have been a hunter lurking in the woods(or it could have been the wind) but...
It worked!!! It made me feel bigger than the noise she thought she heard.
 She would always calm down and start to breath again, as I sang out over the woods ( I think she was embarrassed and thought-oh lets move on already!) I know it wasn't the song...it was me breathing, and almost chuckling too...as I went into it all.
It was absurd truly,singing in the woods like that, to no one!

Off I drove to the stable .....truly inspired by my friends to make a difference in me, for my mare...

So all this back ground to tell you...the best laid plans can so awry!! I was driving along on a wet rainy day and..it started to slushy rain...I suddenly noticed-snow on the ground in some fields. No problem, In thought. Well blast it all..it started to accumulate on the road and as I got past the 800 foot level, I was tensing up badly.
Driving a new truck, heck, driving a truck at all in slick conditions..I'm not liking it and missing my smaller 4x4 Izuzu Trooper!!

I employed= then and there= in the truck- the arsenal I had planned for the stable and my mare!!! I sang out-ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW, while driving! I wanted the drink, but waited.
 I stopped as soon as I could,  turned my hubs and put her in 4 WD. Good thing I did too... I was approaching the first hill and this silly (that's NOT what I thought out loud) little truck owner was actually BACKING UP, in my lane, in the snow...I was frantically flashing my lights for him to kindly remove his little truck from my lane. If I stopped at this point-it was OVER, and I'd get stuck. He then did the other thing you never wnat ot see...he popped his silly (again, NOT what I said aloud) little arm out the window...an waved me around. ON a BLIND HILL, IN THE SNOW!
By the time I got up that first hill and that was at the  900 foot level and no where to turn around...I saw them all....cars... trucks....all lining the sides of the road, on the decent of the hill!!! The drivers all standing around, outside the vehicles looking at me, wondering. . . where I would slide off the road amidst thier vehicles! HOLY SNOW CRAP!
I was too far into it to stop...I would just be another one of them, in the ditch.
As people watched me pass them with a petirified face, I was NOT singing at this point, I drove on and prayed hard !
They looked at me, I could tell they thought..another one thinks they can do it!
WELL-I DID DO IT- PRAISE GOD! I went 15 miles per hour the entire way and did not vary  a thing-no braking no gas no turning of the wheels- down the hill to up the hill, didn't even fishtail! The Rainbow song changed to HALLELUJAH!

                                     These are from my phone's camera

Heavy snow made it so hard to open the gates!

 Of course, I had the wrong shoes on! I was only prepared for rain this day. Fortunatley, I had the boots in the truck! Had to use my feet to clear the depth of snows..

So, all this to say...the plans I had got "snowed over"!!! Ha!

It was so pretty and some, probably most- of you, have to deal with SO MUCH MORE than this measly 5 inches...but for us Low landers..at the 500 foot level..snow is a rare occurrence, and we make a hooting BIG deal out of it cause well, it is for us...we don't know what to do..they close schools and roads and  have service anouncements on staying home and not driving ,well...you get my point.

The rest can now be viewed with much fewer words......enjoy!!
For those of you who are so totally sick of the snow and want pull the trash can over to you now...sorry!

Yea, got my socks wet!

                                                                  Helloo My Snowy mare!

Don't know if you can see the little temp fence...it was completely bent over and on the ground, each section. So the first  order of business was to shovel  snow, so I could close the gate to the field...so Maddy mare would not decide she could step out, then go on Walkabout!

Maddy investigating..ooou a shovel!

Hay to the horses, was the next order of business...then- Spiked Cocoa, I decided!

Little Arabian Zee,

 is the eldest among the Painted Forest Stable horses. She was a killer endurance steed in her day..one day I will show you a photo of her doing her thing..she was awesome!

Willow mare~

Skyler~

the other  paint of "Painted Forest Stables"

Skye the Big QH

Big Black warm blood Theo- my mare's pasture mate~

And Mine...while I had to stomp my feet, for most all the other horses to acknowledge me, as I said their names...to just get a shot that was not only  of their hineys...I simply said,  "WhoWho"... and the mare said WHAT?!

She keeps track of usually...even with hay in front of her.

This is where I decided to have a cuppa spiked Cocoa! Thanks CHEYENNE for earlier inspiration-

had NO IDEA how helpful it would be today!

Maddy mare was the last, in this order of horses, her stall is on the end.

 Today..she was the most photogenic! It also was after the cocoa....

 

It was now 6pm and time to dare the drive home,

Good night my mare~

NEXT TIME...we shall try for the COLORFUL-OPERA SINGING!